


The Murder Club

by LunaYamiia



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Drama, Class Clown Claude, Dumb High School Drama, Female My Unit | Byleth, Found Family, Found Family House Leaders, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Kind of inspired by How To Get Away With Murder, Loner Dimitri, Male My Unit | Byleth, Mental Health Issues, Murder, Murder Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Queen Bee Edelgard, Suicidal Thoughts, Tags May Change, Twin Byleth AU, Wanna avoid spoilers ya know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21623155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaYamiia/pseuds/LunaYamiia
Summary: Edelgard was running,running,running.She refused to think about how long she had been running, the endless forest she felt she had been in for hours.She refused to think about where she was going she felt as if she'd ran past the same bush almost 6 times.She refused to think about the rain, the wind, the mud splashing against her bare legs with every step she took.She refused to think about them; their eyes, their screams.She refused to think about what she had done.Edelgard was running.-The three house leaders make a mistake that turns their lives upside down.(Kinda inspired by HTGAWM)
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg & Claude von Riegan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth & Claude von Riegan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	1. Edelgard Was Running

Edelgard was running, 

running,

running.

She couldn't- no, wouldn't think about anything else.

She refused.

She refused to think about the pain surging through her right arm, becoming more unbearable with every second.

She refused to think about the iron taste filling her mouth more and more as she ran on.

She refused to think about how long she had been running, the endless forest she felt she had been in for hours.

She refused to think about where she was going she felt as if she'd ran past the same bush almost 6 times.

She refused to think about the rain, the wind, the mud splashing against her bare legs with every step she took.

She refused to think about them, their eyes, their screams.

She refused to think about what she had done.

She was close, very close now she could feel it. As her feet hit the floor, she felt the rain begin to beat down heavier and heavier, as if trying to knock her off of her feet. Each drop feeling like a bullet against her skin. The trees were clearing now,

She was close.

The sun was coming up, rising high now she could feel it. As her feet hit a stray tree stump, she felt herself strike the ground, her ears ringing as she heard her own cry. Each stinging tear that rolled down her face into the mud fueling her anger. The light was brighter now almost blinding,

The sun was coming up.

She would make it, she couldn't give up now she could feel it. As her feet hit the mud, she rose again, clinging to her injured arm with determination in her eyes. Each thought of failure repressing itself. Her feet were moving now,

She would make it.

And so-

Edelgard was running, 

running,

running.

She wouldn't think about anything else.

She refused.

* * *

_8 months earlier_

Edelgard was running, 

It wasn't like she had wanted to, but once again Professor Bylese had caught her chatting with Dorothea during her Physical Education class and, to their horror, had made them run three laps around the track outside. The rain was pouring and Edelgard heard Dorothea whine from behind her.

"Edie slow down! Why are you even running she can't even see us," Edelgard pointed over to the window of the school gym. Dorothea's eyes followed her finger to where Professor Bylese was, indeed, watching them from the window.

 _Like an Eagle._ Edelgard had thought with a dry smile. She slowed down, falling into pace with Dorothea- to the brunette's relief.

"Let's be honest, It's better than doing dodgeball." Dorothea frowned,

"At least we wouldn't be doing it in the _rain._ " Edelgard flicked her soaked white hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear, wishing she'd listened to the professor when she had told her to tie it up.

"And we'll be late for lunch!" Dorothea pouted, "The younger students always get to the lunch line before us and Phys Ed is the only chance I have to get there early!" Edelgard groaned, remembering the truth in Dorothea's words.

"Can't you ask Dimitri or Claude to save us a spot or something?" Edelgard shook her head,

"Nope, I'm not really friends with them anyway."

Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude were the house leaders of the Black Eagles, Blue Lions and Golden Deer respectfully. Though they had hebdomadal meetings, Edelgard had never really been fond of the other house leaders; she usually forgot about their existence until she inevitably ran into them in the corridors or one of her classes. They all had their separate lives and they got on with it, Edelgard didn't really care what they did as long as they didn't affect her or the standing of the Black Eagles and they never did.

"Ooh! What about the dance of the Eagle and Lion?" Dorothea's eyes lit up at her own mention of the school's annual dance. The dance of the Eagle and Lion was a school dance that the school held periodically for the older students, this year Edelgard, Claude and Dimitri, as the house leaders, (and their handlers) would be the ones to organize it. Though it was quite far now; when it came closer, the dance of the Eagle and Lion would be the talk of the school. Who people were going with, how people would ask each other out, which couples would survive after; it was definitely the most thrilling time of the school year. Edelgard wasn't counting on the other house leaders to even know how to plan a dance; Dimitri didn't look like he had ever been to a dance and Claude probably wouldn't take the process seriously whatsoever so Edelgard was planning to take the whole responsibility onto herself. It wasn't like she minded though, with the other house leaders out of the way she would easily be able to perfect the event with little to no opposition or infighting. 

"Ah yes, I was meaning to ask you about that," Edelgard wiped the rain out of her face as the two girls neared the window where Bylese was still watching them closely.

"Do you think we should have a theme or should we leave it as normal?" Dorothea shook her head, 

"No theme, it's to see what people come up with on their own, and besides" the brunette snickered, "You remember last time the House Leaders tried to theme the DOTEAL?" Edelgard chortled, remembering her second year when the older students were told that the theme was 'animal'. The pictures from that year had spread like wildfire through Garreg Mach's social groups and social media and Edelgard remembered seeing a few of them still floating around recently. 

"Oh yeah- Goddess, that was embarrassing,"

"I know right, I get second-hand embarrassment just looking at them!"

"So I'm guessing that's no for the theme then," Edelgard looked thoughtful, "Then what about colours?"

"Oooh maybe red!"

"We'd seem kinda biased if we did that."

"Oh yeah," Dorothea laughed, the rain flattening her brown against her head. "Well, then what do red, yellow and blue make when they're mixed together?"

"Brown, Thea"

"Yeaaahh I don't think so" Dorothea shook her head, "There are really pretty ones I've seen on Pinterest, we could try them?"

"That's a good idea,"

"Yeah, why don't we go to the computer room at lunch to do some research?" Edelgard thought for a moment and then smirked,

"I've got an even better idea,"

"And what's that?"

"Professor Byleth maayy have given me the key to the old staff computer room near the boiler room, and you know what that means,"

Dorothea's face lit up,

"No browsing restrictions?" Edelgard nodded as the two girls finished their third and final lap "Thank the Goddess! The school has every streaming website blocked on the normal laptops, I was really starting to think I'd never be able to watch TRHOF ever again!" Edelgard laughed at Dorothea's outburst as they made their way out of the wet and into the gym where the other students were playing dodgeball. She pulled Dorothea closer to her, bringing her voice to a low whisper,

"Maybe if we sneak behind the benches we can go to get changed and go to lunch early" Nodding enthusiastically, Dorothea followed Edelgard as they began to silently creep around the benches and out into the locker rooms.

"Heads up!"

Before she knew what was happening, Edelgard saw two Dodgeballs fly past her face at breakneck speed, so close that they almost caught her nose. She turned to see Professor Bylese standing in front of her, dodgeball in hand, looking unimpressed.

"Hresvelg, Arnault nice of you to join us and nice try, go and join everybody else," The two girls sighed before making the way onto the courts to play with the rest of their class. As she walked past the professor, Edelgard grumbled something under her breath and just when she thought she'd gotten away with it-

she felt a dodgeball fly into the back of her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Sorry it's not very long (and if the repetition got annoying!), the character introductions will be quite short but the chapters after that will hopefully be much longer!


	2. Dimitri Was Crying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [CONTENT WARNING| Mentions of suicide at the end]

Dimitri was crying,

sobbing,

wailing.

There was nothing he could do to stop the flow of hot tears the were streaking down his cheeks, the choking as he tried to regain his breath, the salty taste of his own tears bitter against his lips, the sound of his own blubbering amid the silence.

He hated it.

He hated that he was shaking, his teeth practically chattering,

He hated that he couldn't breathe, his lungs fighting against the tightness forming in his chest,

He hated that he was afraid, his pulse accelerating so fast that he could practically feel it in his throat,

He hated that he was alone, his mind convincing him that the walls were closing in, the deafening silence filling his head; making him want to scream.

He hated what he had done.

**_This isn't happening._ **

_Breathe Dimtri_.

Get up. He tried to see through the tears, he gathered the strength to push himself up. To rise again.

**_This isn't happening._ **

_Breathe Dimtri._

Get out. He tried to push himself, he tightened his eyes and attempted to move. To escape.

**_This isn't happening._ **

_Breathe Dimtri._

You're okay. He tried to forget, he breathed heavily and suppressed the urge to scream. To stay sane.

Breathe Dimitri.

Breathe Dimitri.

_Breathe Dimitri_. 

Breathe.

You're almost there, Dimitri.

He reached out-

Black. 

**Thud.**

Dimitri was on the floor. His body struck the wood with a loud thump and pain began surging through his side. He gagged; blood splattering against the bleak wooden floorboards as tears began forming in his eyes once again. He curled up into a ball of his own blood and salty, bitter tears.

And so-

Dimitri was crying,

sobbing,

wailing.

All Alone.

And he hated it.

* * *

_8 months earlier_

Dimitri was crying,

It had become almost a daily occurrence now; Dimitri sitting in the toilet stall and weeping uncontrollably. Nobody ever heard; the boy's toilets in the dorms were always empty at lunchtimes and he was thankful for that. People already didn't think much of him and being caught in such a state of vulnerability would make things considerably worse for him in the long run. People didn't think he was fit to be house leader of the Blue Lions and neither did he. He had always wondered why Professor Byleth had chosen him to be the leader of the Blue Lions. Dimitri; the introverted, dorky loner to be the leader of 'the strongest house', he wouldn't have ever imagined it himself.

 _"I believe you have this in you, Dimitri_ " Byleth had said when Dimitri had come to him protesting the decision.

_"There's something deep down there and you know it, you've just got to bring it back out again."_

Dimitri spluttered; choking on his tears, he reached up to wipe them away with uniform sleeves. 

_Goddess Dimitri, you really are pathetic._

Byleth was wrong, there wasn't anything in him, there was nothing special about him at all. He was just plain old Dimitri- plain old Dimitri with no friends and that was that. He reached down to check his phone for the time and suddenly felt a sharp pang in his head, he had a headache; probably from all of that crying. It was almost the end of lunch now and Dimitri debated whether it would be worth it going down to the dining hall to get a bottle of water but decided against it. He would just go and get some paracetamol from his room and take it dry, he didn't feel like facing the judgment of his peers today. Slowly, he unlocked the door to the stall, went to the sink and splashed his face with water. He studied himself in the mirror for a few seconds; his blue eyes were red and puffy and his hair was awfully messy- he needed to get it cut soon. He sighed and picked up his bag from the tiled floor, haphazardly slinging it over his shoulder before leaving the toilets.

He entered the hallway cautiously, though he knew nobody would be there he didn't want to chance anyone running into him on his way to the dorms and questioning his appearance so he tried his best to keep himself out of sight. As he approached his dorm he quickened his pace; slipping in quietly and throwing himself onto his bed. He stayed there for a few seconds and then opened his eyes. Briskly he opened his nightstand and rummaged until he got a hold of the box of tablets, he pushed one out of foil casing and tried his best to swallow it. Leaning back on the bed he sighed and squeezed his eyes shut; steadying his breathing until it was at his normal pace. His eyes opened and he glanced over to the other side of his room where his roommate, Felix, had his clothes strewn over his bed and the floor. He glanced at the clock on the wall:

15 minutes left.

Dimitri rose from his bed and began to pick up Felix's clothes from the floor, shoving them into the wash basket on the side of their room. He wouldn't usually do this sort of thing for Felix, but he thought that he may as well do something to pass the time, it wasn't like he had anywhere else to be. Pushing his hair out of his face, he continued to straighten out the duvet cover on his bed, tucking it into the sides and throwing a stray sock into the basket. 

After a couple of minutes, he gave a small smile; satisfied by his work and took his phone from his pocket, glancing at it.

No new messages.

_Of course._

He plopped himself on the edge of his bed, staring at his blank screen for a couple of seconds before he sighed.

He wondered what Dedue was doing right now. 

Dedue had never really used social media so he couldn't check up on him that way. Dimitri lay down the bed; rolling onto his stomach still staring at the screen blankly.

He wished he could see Dedue again.

He wished he could see his parents again.

It had been 3 years since the car crash which had killed his parents, though he didn't know much about it Dimitri had heard that Dedue's family had somehow been involved and after that, his only friend had disappeared and he had never heard from him since. As he moved onto his side he felt the familiar feeling of hot tears rolling down his face but he didn't brush them away. He reached for his pillow, bringing it close to his chest, squeezing it tight as more and more tears poured down his face.

_Maybe it was your fault._

**_Shut up, Dimitri._ **

_Maybe that's why everyone hates you._

**_Shut up, Dimitri._ **

_Maybe that's why nobody wants to be your friend._

**_Shut up, Dimitri._ **

_Maybe this is your punishment for being so pathetic._

**_Shut up, Dimitri._ **

_Maybe that's why you're so stupid._

**_Shut up, Dimitri._ **

_You're worthless_

**_SHUT UP, DIMITRI._ **

_Maybe it would be better if you just k-_

"Shut up, Dimitri"

He recognised that voice; it was Felix. He didn't turn to look at him though, he was too embarrassed to,

"You were whimpering again," Dimitri heard Felix sit on his own bed and open a drawer; probably looking for his books for the lessons ahead.

"Sorry." Dimitri tried to make himself sound clear but he could hear his own voice trembling. The room was only filled the sound of Felix as he stuffed his books carelessly into his bag.

"Did you clear my bed for me?" 

"Yeah" 

Felix went silent for a moment,

"Thanks," the packing and stuffing continued until Dimitri heard Felix zip up his bag and throw it over his shoulder.

"Classes are going to start soon,"

"I know."

...

"Okay." And with that Felix's footsteps echoed across the room as he went through the door and slammed it behind him. Dimitri compelled himself to sit up, drying the tears from his face with the sleeves of his jumper. He forced a smile onto his face as he grabbed a couple of textbooks from his drawers, shoving them into his bag. He would be okay.

He would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm sorry I put our boy through that all but it'll get better soon, I promise!


	3. Claude Was Fighting

Claude was fighting,

fighting,

fighting,

Fighting for his life; for his sanity.

Fighting with every inch of his body,

Fighting with every inch of his soul.

Blood. 

The taste was fresh on his lips, but it wasn't his.

Sweat. 

Rolling down his face, coating his body, but the night was cold.

Adrenaline.

Still running fresh through his veins, his heart felt like it would explode, but the room was serene.

Guilt.

Rushing to his stomach; causing him to gag, but he somehow found his strength.

Time was running out, 

time was running out. He needed to move; he couldn't stay.

The light was running out,

the light was running out. He needed to move; he couldn't stay.

His breath was running out,

his breath was running out. He needed to move; he couldn't stay.

He needed to move; he couldn't stay.

He needed to move; he couldn't stay.

** He needed to move; he couldn't stay. **

** He couldn't stay. **

** He couldn't die. **

Not here, 

not like this.

Not like them.

This wasn't his place, this wasn't his time and he knew it. He believed it. With all of his heart and all of his soul. He would escape, he would leave.

Seemingly without his consent, his body moved. Moved rapidly, at breakneck speed. 

He felt as if his soul had left his body; like he was watching himself from afar but couldn't do anything, couldn't control himself, could only watch in horror. 

Fading, he was fading. 

The light seemed to dim, his eyelids seemed to fall.

The room seemed to shrink, his breath seemed to hitch.

The ground seemed to sway, his head seemed to spin.

And so;

Claude was fighting,

fighting,

fighting,

Fighting for his life; for his sanity.

Fighting with every inch of his body,

Fighting with every inch of his soul.

He needed to move; he couldn't stay.

* * *

_ 8 months earlier _

Claude was fighting,

Fighting to stay awake, fighting to stay focused. Professor Byleth's voice had always been rather monotone but today it seemed to be droning on and on and Claude was seriously considering just zoning out and copying up the notes from Lorenz later. 

His day had already been pretty terrible, to begin with; he'd woken up at 3 am in the morning, which was extremely unusual for him, and finding that he couldn't fall back asleep and that Hilda was not awake; he'd spent an excruciating 3 and a half hours staring at the ceiling wishing his life would end.

To make things worse; the line for breakfast had been exceedingly long that day and the bell had sounded as soon as he'd began to eat, meaning he'd had to swiftly scarf it down before being late to his first class and severely reprimanded by his religious studies professor; Sothis. 

And if things couldn't get any worse; Professor Bylese had split the girls and boys up in Phys Ed meaning he couldn't spend his favourite period of the day messing around with Hilda instead of actually participating in the activities. Instead, the boys were tasked with doing cross country with Jeralt and Claude had come to the realisation that eating a whole bowl of porridge in less than a minute was an awful idea, and in a matter of minutes Claude had found himself in Manuela's medical room with the worst side stitch he had ever experienced in his life. Hilda and Raphael had eventually had to drag him to his History class because he'd refused to get up from the bed.

To be more precise, it wasn't one of his best days.

Slumped across his desk, he looked up at the clock on the wall.

_ Half an hour left. _

He slammed his head into his desk, exasperated. He wanted nothing more than run back to his dorm, scream into his pillow and then vent to Hilda for several hours about how much his life sucked. Then again, he'd left his room in a mess this morning, to Lorenz's disgust, and he didn't feel like cleaning it again. Tapping his fingers against the side of his desk, he lazily looked around the classroom at his fellow classmates. Ashe wasn't sitting too far from him, looking engrossed in the topic, hanging onto every word that came out of the professor's mouth, as usual. Claude wished he had the deep passion for history that Ashe had; maybe then he'd be able to stay awake through half of Professor Byleth's lessons. He didn't, of course, which explained why his history book was filled with nothing but doodles of the other students in the class and dumb fantasies from his head. It wasn't that he didn't like history- far from it, it was just that he could never seem to pay attention in class, he was more than happy to seek out information on his own accord, in fact, it was something he did regularly but there just seemed to be something that bored him about sitting still and listening to someone else drone on about it. He looked back at Ashe and suddenly realised that the boy was staring at him.

"Claude!"

There was a sudden thump on his desk and Claude immediately turned around to see Byleth with both of palms against his desk, glaring at him. Claude felt himself shrink back into his seat in defeat. 

"Did you even hear a word I said?" Claude sighed, shaking his head in shame and Byleth exhaled removing his palms from Claude's desk and crossing his arms. Claude found himself thanking the Goddess that Professor Byleth had a very limited range of facial expressions so he couldn't see how angry the man probably was. 

"If you were listening, Claude, you would have heard me say that I've set up a House Leaders meeting at lunch today in the meeting room,"

Claude puffed his cheeks up in annoyance, 

"Right..." Claude watched as Byleth raised an eyebrow at him in a rare display of actual human emotion, Claude could have sworn he saw amusement cross the man's face.

"Come see me after class, Claude." And with that, the man strode back to the front of the class and continued the lesson. Claude sunk back into his seat feeling his cheeks heat up from embarrassment, he decided that he would try his best to pay attention for the rest of the lesson.

"This isn't like you, Claude," Byleth perched himself on the edge of his desk as Claude hung his head in shame, he only huffed in response. Byleth shook his head,

"Bad day?" Claude nodded and Byleth sighed.

"We all have our off days," The young man pushed his hair from his blue eyes. "Just try and push through it, it worries me seeing you this quiet." Claude smiled muttering a small, almost inaudible,  _ 'thanks' _ .

"Just remember to come to the meeting, alright?" Byleth picked up the textbooks from his desk and turned to give a small wave before leaving the classroom. As he left, Claude caught a flash of pink in the doorway and found himself grinning as he saw his best friend's head poke through the door frame.

"Claude, having some alone time with Professor are we?" The pink-haired girl joined Claude at his side as he chuckled. "You're lucky, you don't know how many girls would love that~" Claude shook his head, laughing.

"People really are desperate, huh?" Hilda nodded and snickered,

"Gosh you really look like a bear dragged you through a bush, ya know that?"

"Wow,  _ thanks. _ " Claude drawled, sarcasm lining his voice. They began their walk towards the dining hall.

"You've got a meeting today?" 

"Yup!"

"Jeez" Hilda pouted, crossing her arms in exasperation, "You've had those like every single day, I barely see you anymore!" She feigned grief,

"Hilda, I went to a meeting like, last Thursday." Hilda let out a boisterous laugh, giving up her act of sorrow.

"Yeah but that's way too much time! What am I meant to do with you gone?"

"Hang out with literally anyone else Hilda, you act like I'm your only friend." Claude gave her a sly look, "Or maybe that's because I am?" Hilda stuck her tongue out playfully, giving Claude a light punch on the arm,

"Yeah but you're more  _ fun~ _ " 

"Aww, that's so  _ nice  _ Hilda _ ~"  _ Hilda linked her arm into Claude's and giggled.

"I know, I'm the best!" She cupped her free hand to face, laughing. "See, you look better already!" 

"Ah, it's because I've spent my time with you Hilda~" 

"Oh stop- you're so sweet!" Hilda swatted her hand towards him, nonchalantly.

"Only for you dear~"

They both stopped and looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

"Oh, Goddess we're so dumb!" Hilda howled. The two of them chuckled at themselves and Claude wiped a small tear from his eye as he laughed,

"I feel so much better thanks, Hilda." Hilda nudged his side with her elbow and winked,

"That's what friends are for, right?" Claude grinned at her. 

"Exactly!"

"Well, have fun at that meeting or whatever,"

"Ugh, oh yeah,"

"I don't know how you put up with those two," Hilda puffed, "I mean Dimitri's not terrible he's just kinda a loner, I feel sorry for the kid sometimes but  _ Edelgard  _ is like, a mega-bitch I can't stand her."

Claude frowned,

"Hilda-"

"Yeah, yeah I'm sorry but the truth is the truth." She threw her free hand back and shook her head.

"I mean yeah, they're an interesting bunch but I'm sure they're nice people,"

"Well if you're talking about Dimitri, sure I guess but I literally watched Edelgard purposefully trip over one of the first years the other week, she's like cartoonishly evil"

"I feel sorry for him..."

"Who, Dimitri?"

"Yeah, I mean, honestly I don't see him around that much but when I do he always looks as if he's been crying." Hilda's face looked solemn as she nodded in agreement,

"I guess so, that kid really needs someone." Hilda paused, "But I still don't understand why you like Edelgard,"

"I don't  _ like  _ her, I'm neutral I guess." Claude shrugged and Hilda shook her head but smiled,

"You know what, you always see the good in people, Claude; I guess that's why I like you." Claude gave a genuine smile and Hilda placed her hand on his arm and returned his smile. 

"Love you big time Hilda," 

"Same to you!" She poked his side gently with her finger and grinned, looking back up at him, "Oh, you've got to go now, haven't you?"

Claude nodded,

"Yeah, I guess it's about that time. I'll see you later though?" Hilda winked at him,

"You know it, I'll drop by your dorm room after classes!"

"As always," Claude grinned and Hilda pulled him into a hug. She broke away and waved,

"See ya!" She moved away towards the dining hall and Claude waved goodbye before continuing on to the meeting room.

Maybe today wouldn't be such a bad day after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the introductory chapters! Sorry for not updating for a while but I'll hopefully be back and updating every weekend! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


	4. "Now Is The Time To Be Working Together."

”Shit!” Edelgard felt her back give in as she abruptly dropped the large shape from her hands.

”Edelgard come on!” Claude had turned to her, a panicked expression on his face, ”Look, we can’t afford to stop now; not while we’re so close!”

”Look I never agreed to be a part of this!” She held her hands up,

”You’re just as much a part of this as we are!” Claude hissed, dropping the form from his hands. He glared at her,

”Well it wasn't my fault; now was it?” She turned to Dimitri, ”Maybe if you had kept your mouth shut we wouldn't be in this mess!”

Dimitri huffed but said nothing; letting what was in his hands slump onto the floor and folding his arms across his chest.

”Hey, don’t bring him into this!” Claude hushed.

”Well then who else is to blame then, huh?”

”Well, you decided to throw a tantrum over absolutely nothing!”

”I did not!”

Dimitri turned away from their squabbling; watching the clouds that formed from his mouth slowly fade away into the bitterly cold breeze.

The evening was cold, so cold. Dusk was beginning to descend upon the land; shrouding it in a blanket of darkness, the clouds losing their pinkish hue as they began to fade to a deep midnight blue. Though it seemed quiet and tranquil; the frenzied buzz of excitement was still fresh in the air. The silence engulfing the area was almost deafening, the occasional whisper of the wind dancing gracefully around the trio's ears. Claude sighed, the vapour escaping his mouth and fading into the air as he did so,

"Come on, we should stop fighting; now is the time to be working together." He wiped his hands against his shirt leaving dark streaks contrasting the crisp white.

"You're right; let's just get this over with so we can pretend this didn't happen," Edelgard agreed, hastily squatting down and gathering the large shape that she had earlier dashed to the ground into her hands, "There's not a lot of time left; we can't afford to stop here." Dimitri nodded heaving the figure on the floor up into his arms. He glanced up towards the sky, noticing the fading light above their heads.

"Let's get moving; we can't be out here much longer."

The sound of swift footsteps broke through the silence that had encompassed their surroundings, the mist that had enveloped them was beginning to clear. The cold was maliciously biting at their skin, but that was the least of their worries. As the darkness began to settle upon them, their footsteps quickened; uneven and unsynchronised; the crunching of leaves underneath their feet resounded vehemently throughout the night.

* * *

_8 months earlier_

"This sucks,"

" _Edelgard._ " 

"Yeah, yeah I'm sorry."

They had been sitting in the meeting room for about 15 minutes now; just Edelgard, Claude and Byleth. The meeting had meant to start 10 minutes ago, but Dimitri had yet to turn up. Claude had slumped himself over a chair in the corner; tapping on the side it impatiently, Edelgard had sat at a table nearer to the front; scrolling lazily through her social media feed, to Byleth's annoyance; though he had given up on asking her to stop, he was sitting on his desk at the front of the room; occasionally checking his watch and looking towards the door. To both Edelgard and Claude's surprise, he didn't seem to be bothered by Dimitri's tardiness. Rapid footsteps echoed across the stone floor outside and all three heads in the room turned to the doorway where a very dishevelled Dimitri stood,

"Professor Byleth, I'm so sorry I'm late," His eyes were red and puffy as if he'd been heavily crying, his hair was severely tousled and his uniform blazer looked as if it had been haphazardly thrown onto his body. 

"That's fine Dimitri," Byleth hopped off of the desk and sat himself down at the large table in the middle of the room. "Let's get this meeting started, shall we?" Dimitri slipped silently into the room; taking a seat near the door and trying to hide his face. Edelgard and Claude glanced at each other and then over at Dimitri. 

"First thing on the agenda," Byleth looked down at his notes, "We've got two big events coming up: The White Heron Cup and The Dance of the Eagle and Lion." he had barely finished speaking before Edelgard's hand shot up almost immediately.

"Professor Byleth sir, I think I can handle the DOTEAL on my own. Dorothea and I have alrea-"

"Hold on a minute, why are _you_ handling the DOTEAL?" Claude shot a look at Edelgard and she rolled her eyes at him,

"Because I'm honestly the only one here fit to plan any sort of event!"

"Oh really now?"

"Yes! Claude, you don't take anything seriously; how am I meant to trust you to plan this whole event when you can't even pay attention in class?" Claude shot daggers at her, 

"Seriously?! What about Dimitri?" Dimitri's face twisted in horror, 

"Claude she's right, just let her do what she wants, don't drag me into this-"

"Dimitri!" Claude turned on him; staring fiercely. Dimitri sunk back into his seat; looking as if he was on the verge of tears.

"Goddess Claude, are you going to be difficult or are you just going to let me do what I need to do,"

"Why do you feel the need to control everyone and everything?" Claude's voice began to rise, "Seriously that's the only reason that you _think_ that you're popular; it's because you control people! I'll bet you my life that if you didn't try to control every person you came into contact with you'd be irrelevant because you're a horrible person!" Edelgard stood up from her seat; her entire body shaking in rage, her eyes almost glowing,

"You take that back!" she spat.

"Make me," Claude growled leaning forward and out of his seat; seemingly about to pounce on the girl at any second.

In a swift movement; Byleth stood up and kicked the table with such force that one of the chairs near the other end fell to the ground with a resounding thud; causing all three heads to turn in his direction.

"Enough! Sit down; both of you!" The two perpetrators looked at each other with piercing glares before moving back to their seats. "I cannot believe I had to witness that from two of the house leaders, you should both be ashamed of yourselves." 

"I'm sorry, Professor," Edelgard hung her head, "I was completely out of line."

"You were," Byleth nodded; reorganizing his notes that had been scattered across the table. He looked to Claude, " _Claude..._ "

"I'm sorry teach," Claude turned to Edelgard, "I'm sorry Edelgard, I didn't mean what I said." Edelgard didn't reply.

"I was thinking about this before and after this... display... I think I was right," The three house leaders looked up at him in confusion,

"You three are way too distant from each other, I don't know how I'm going to expect you to plan two extremely large events together if you're going to get into such heated arguments over such trivial matters." The man looked at the puzzled faces in front of him and exhaled. "I didn't want to do this, but I guess I don't have a choice; I'm making you three hang out together weekly."

"What!" Edelgard turned to him in shock and Claude groaned; slumping himself across the table once again.

"And that's that." Byleth flicked through his notes again and Edelgard got up, looking at him in horror,

"Professor, that's not fair!"

"Yes it is Edelgard now sit down and let's continue this meeting in peace shall we?" Edelgard reluctantly took her seat and Dimitri took the opportunity to quietly speak up,

"So um, when will we have to do this?" Byleth looked up from his papers; meeting Dimitri's eyes with a stern stare,

"Every Wednesday you _will_ meet here and you _will_ talk."

"Talk huh," Claude grumbled under his breath, 

"Yes, _talk_ ." Byleth gave Claude a look which caused him to sink back into his seat. "Now let's set some things straight. Edelgard, you will _not_ be taking the Dance of the Eagle and Lion on by yourself, Claude, you _will_ work with Edelgard and you two will _not_ argue and Dimitri, you _will_ participate in this as much as the others; do I make myself clear?" There were some almost inaudible noises; which Byleth took as sounds of agreement and he continued;

"Now that we've got that out of the way, let's discuss the closest event that we'll need to plan for: The White Heron Cup, it's the biggest sporting event of the year, but of course you know that; there'll be a lot of scouts there and Principal Rhea is counting on you to make a good impression on them." He looked over his notes once more, "We'll need people to keep an eye on the cheer team to make sure they know what they're doing with their routine, I'll make sure Professor Bylese keeps the football teams on track, we'll also need people to help with decorations, people to work on the food-"

"Jeez, that's a lot for just the three of us, don't you think?" Claude gave the man a concerned look.

"Well, we'll have help from the PTA, the rest of the faculty and the class reps from the younger years too as well as the football team." 

"I can handle the cheer team," Edelgard suggested, "Thea's the captain so it's easy for me to stay in contact with her,"

"Good," Byleth remarked, writing something down on the paper.

"Well, Raphael knows some of the kitchen staff; so maybe I could ask him to ask about food?" Claude proposed, in a tone which made it seem as if he wasn't so sure about the suggestion himself.

"That's a good idea, Claude," Byleth noted something else down on his paper before glancing over at a petrified looking Dimitri.

"And what about you, Dimitri?" Dimitri shook his head, looking ashamed.

"I-I don't know... I really want to be of assistance to you but I don't know how to..." He looked down at his lap and Byleth gave him a somewhat assuring look,

"That's fine Dimitri, I'm sure we can find something for you to do," Byleth gave a rare, slight smile.

The White Heron Cup, as Byleth had stated before, was the biggest sporting event of the school year; it was a yearly event, that usually took place at Garreg Mach Academy, that lasted for three days. It consisted of a football (soccer) tournament between several different schools and a cheer competition with several cheer routines from the school teams placed in between the matches and ending with a dinner on the last day to celebrate the victors. There were no classes for the Garreg Mach students on those three days; so many of the students and faculty came to watch the matches and cheer on their friends and classmates. There were usually stalls set up around the school with different activities for students from all schools to partake in and stalls selling food usually made by the Catering students. It was most definitely a highlight of the school year for most students and photos, videos and clips usually dominated social media for at least the next month.

For previous house leaders; setting it up was an extremely stressful task but was usually very rewarding all the same. The Garreg Mach team was three years undefeated and this year the other schools seemed eager to take the crown. It was a very exciting time of the year for the whole school.

Before, it had been that way for Dimitri too; he had led the junior football team in his second year after all, but after his parents' death; his life had come to a screeching halt and he had quickly retreated into himself; becoming the sorrowful recluse he was today. Looking back, he lamented the time he had spent with his friends, the feeling of happiness and joy he had felt. He wished he could feel that way again.

For Edelgard; The White Heron Cup was a much more stressful time of the year. Dorothea was never around since as the captain of the cheerleading team; she needed to lead the practices and as much as she loved Dorothea; attending the cheer team's practices usually bored her to death. Most of her friends from her clique were either in the Cheer team or the Football team so the weeks leading up to the event were usually quite lonely for her. Though this year she would be organising it, so at least she wouldn't have time to worry about being on her own.

Claude loved the weeks leading up to The White Heron Cup. In his first year at the Academy; he had been in the football team under Dimitri's lead but had left after he had become close friends with Hilda so that they could have more time to mess around. Many of Claude's classmates were on the football team and so periodically; Claude and his group of friends would gather in one of their dorms, order pizza and takeout, and work on banners and posters of support. It was probably one of Claude's favourite times of the year; spending time racing through the mostly empty hallways of the Academy, supporting his friends and trying out food from all of the different stalls meant that he could update his social media with their shenanigans and probably get into trouble with Seteth, _again_.

"Right then," Byleth gave a serious look to the students in front of him, "Let's discuss these preparations then, shall we?"

* * *

Byleth was thankful for the rush of cool air that hit his face as he entered his shared room with his twin sister Bylese. As he opened the door, she looked up from where she was on her side of the room, scrolling casually through her phone. 

"How was the meeting?" She looked back down towards her phone as Byleth chucked some papers onto his desk and flung himself onto his bed. He sighed, 

"Edelgard and Claude were at each other's throats again," Bylese chuckled,

"And Dimitri?" Byleth shook his head, exhaling through his nose softly. 

"Not any better."

Bylese watched her brother take his laptop from his desk a set it down on his bed in front of him.

"How was practice?"

"Alright," She remarked, setting her phone down beside her and turning to him, "I think we've got this one in the bag this year," 

"Good." He scrunched his nose up for a few seconds.

"Something on your mind?" Bylese questioned, noticing the slight change in his facial expression. 

If there was one thing you could say about the Eisner twins; it was that they were _very_ perceptive. Maybe it was because they were so used to expressing their (very limited) emotions through anything other than words or facial expressions that they were extremely skilled at reading other's not so obvious expressions of emotion. But this perception seemed to be cranked up to the max when they were with each other; as twins, they knew each other and their mannerisms like the backs of their own hands. It was almost like telepathy; how they communicated. They seldom needed to speak actual words with each other, their actions and mannerisms were how they interacted with each other and it always baffled anyone else who observed it, except Jeralt of course.

"I just have a bad feeling, that's all," Byleth shook his head, looking over at his sister, "Nothing important."

"A bad feeling about what exactly" Bylese questioned, her curiosity getting the better of her,

"Just the whole house leader thing; I forced the three of them to hang out together every Wednesday, I guess I'm just afraid that it won't work... I'm afraid that they're never going to get along." Bylese gave her brother a comforting look.

"I believe that they'll come around eventually." She stated, "But that's not all that's bothering you, is it?" Bylese noticed the perplexed look crossing her brother's face. He gave what could be considered a small chuckle as he turned away from his laptop and towards Bylese,

"You know me so well... I guess there is something..." He trailed off and Bylese glanced at him; urging him to continue.

"I just have the feeling something terrible will happen, you know? It's sounds kind of stupid saying it out loud but it's been bugging me for a while now" Bylese nodded,

"It's natural to feel that way, but I can assure you; nothing bad will happen." She moved from where she was positioned next to her bed and over to her brother's where she sat down beside him; peering over his shoulder to see what he was doing. Byleth sighed and a small smile adorned his face.

"Yeah."

The silence that succeeded their conversation was a comfortable one. If there was one thing you could say about the Eisner twins it was that they were close, very close. They could spend hours together in silence without it ever becoming awkward; a feat that astounded others. They had been together since birth, after all, and so for most of their lives they had been inseparable, and they didn't plan to change that any time soon. 

Bylese checked the clock in the corner of the room and then turned to Byleth.

"We've got 5 minutes until we're meant to meet Sothis at the cafe, we should probably start going now," She moved from Byleth's side and walked over to her closet where she quickly took out her black jacket and threw it over her shoulders. She ran hurriedly her fingers through her navy blue hair and flicked it over her shoulder before turning to Byleth who had thrown on a blue hoodie, which Bylese recognised from the dirty laundry pile, a coat, and some muddy converse trainers. 

"You couldn't try to make yourself look a little more presentable?" Byleth shrugged nonchalantly as he shoved his phone into his pocket and Bylese couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she slipped into her boots and headed for the door.

"Keys?" Byleth asked casually as Bylese proceeded to almost walk through the door without them.

"Shit, I almost forgot, thanks Byleth." She rushed over to her drawers and grabbed her keys as well as the portable charger for her phone before shoving them swiftly into her bag and turning back towards the door. Thank the Goddess Byleth had remembered them, she would rather not have a repeat of last time.

"I don't know what I'd do without out you," Bylese remarked; punching her brother in the arm playfully,

"Not much." Byleth teased and Bylese stuck her tongue out at him jokingly before they both took off down the hall together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little late but better late than never! I'm not used to writing longer chapters so I'm sorry if this dragged on a bit! We're getting into the plot now, it may seem a little confusing but everything will come together soon! Thanks so much for reading!


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